Fellowships and Summer Funding

Law Student Union Summer (LSUS) is a unique and exciting 10-week internship for law students that combines front-line, labor-related public interest legal work with grassroots organizing in ongoing campaigns by AFL-CIO-affiliated unions nationwide.

In addition to legal research and writing, LSUS interns are involved in community outreach, member mobilization, corporate and other non-legal research, legislative campaigns, and general litigation.

Interns work on-site at locations throughout the country (not in Washington, D.C.). The weekly stipend is $600, and transportation and housing are provided. Attorneys and union organizers supervise interns.

The Strauss Scholarship provides a $25,000 scholarship to two outstanding second-year law students at U.S. law schools to offset expenses for their third year.  The scholarships will be awarded to students who evidence their commitment to diversity in the legal profession, who demonstrate excellence, and who can bring diverse viewpoints and experiences to the firm.  In addition to the financial award, the scholarships also provide mentoring from firm attorneys and a paid second-year Summer Associate position in the firm’s Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. offices.

The ASIL International Law Fellows program allows recent graduates to gain up to a year of professional experience working on ASIL publications and developing and implementing its research, education, and outreach programs. The positions are full-time and typically of a 6-month duration. Fellows work with their supervisors to identify areas of professional interest that can be developed while working at Tillar House. They also have the opportunity to select and attend various internationally-themed events in the active D.C. international community. Fellows are eligible for a one-time, $2,500 travel stipend, but the position is otherwise unpaid. Applicants are strongly encouraged to identify and obtain alternative sources of funding. Fellowships typically start in January, April, July, and October.

Asian American Law Fund of New York will fund up to three scholarships of $5,000 each. Each student is expected to volunteer at least eight weeks, 35 hours per week, during the summer at such a project and to apply the award to law school tuition. Projects must be with non-profit organizations and serve New York's Asian American community. Proposed projects for the summer are included with the application. Applicants may propose their own projects. A proposed project should involve legal work and have a supervising attorney.

Baker Donelson is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where the individual differences among us are understood, respected and appreciated, recognized as sources of strength of the Firm, and valued as qualities that enrich the environment in which we work. With this in mind, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC will award three (3) scholarships to diverse law students this year. Each recipient will be awarded $10,000 which will be paid during the student's third year of law school to help defray the cost of law school tuition and related expenses. Additionally, recipients will be awarded a salaried 2L Summer Associate position in one of our offices. The recipients' office preferences will be taken into consideration, but final assignment will depend on the Firm's hiring needs. The recipients may split their summers with other law firms; however, they are required to work during the period that the other Summer Associates in that Baker Donelson office are working.

Each summer, Baylor Law provides public interest fellowships to students interning for not-for-profit or governmental organizations to assist underrepresented populations in obtaining equal access to justice. This program is funded through a meaningful endowment gift made to the Law School arising out of a consumer class action settlement. Contact the CDO for more information.

The Bergstrom Child Welfare Law Summer Fellowship is committed to inspiring the best and brightest law students to pursue careers in child welfare law. Through the fellowship, students gain experience and insight into the field and provide much needed services to various child welfare offices specializing in representing children, parents, and social service agencies. After attending a three-day training session at the end of May at Michigan Law, fellows spend at least 10 weeks at their placements. Living expenses during the training + travel costs to Ann Arbor and then to his or her placement or back home (up to $600).

The Blackstone Legal Fellowship prepares Christian law students for careers marked by integrity, excellence, and leadership.

The Fellowship begins with a nine-week summer (June-August) leadership training program, which includes three weeks of seminars on topics including legal philosophy, constitutional law, history, and emerging cultural issues, as well as a six-week legal internship. During this time, participants are not only equipped with a foundation of knowledge that will serve them throughout their careers, they also develop a professional network and form enduring friendships.

For those chosen to become Fellows at the end of the summer, the nine-week program represents a beginning, not a culmination. Fellows receive ongoing training, resources, and support through an international community.

Grants of at least $2,000 are available for a limited number of law students who serve as legal interns for a minimum of six weeks during the summer of 2016 in the offices of a federal court or agency located within the Southern District of Texas, including but not limited to the following: U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Magistrate Court, U.S. Trustee, F.B.I., Federal Public Defender, U.S. Attorney, E.E.O.C., U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Office of Homeland Security, or N.A.S.A. (More Info)

The Curtin Justice Fund Legal Internship Program is seeking motivated law student interns to apply for stipends available for summer 2016. The Program will pay a $2,500 stipend to three law school students who spend the summer months working for a bar association or legal services program designed to prevent homelessness or assist homeless or indigent clients or their advocates. The ideal intern will have a demonstrated interest in public interest law and experience working with poor people or on issues affecting them. All law students are eligible, and first-year law students are encouraged to apply.

The Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Program provides law students with the chance to spend their summer working on a legal project at a qualifying nonprofit public interest organization of their choosing.  Summer Corps members expand the delivery of critically needed legal assistance in low-income and underserved communities across the country for veterans, homeowners facing foreclosure, disaster victims, and those facing other legal issues. Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps-funded program that will provide 1L and 2L students with the opportunity to earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for dedicating their summer to a qualifying legal project at a nonprofit public interest organization.

The Rural Summer Legal Corps Program connects public interest law students with civil legal aid organizations to address pressing legal issues facing rural communities.

Selected participants will begin the summer with intensive training from poverty law experts on housing, domestic violence, public benefits, migrant farmworkers, Native Americans, and family law. After the training, the law students will travel directly to their host site to begin their 8-10 week placement.

Faegre Baker Daniels offers up to four Fellowships annually that provide professional experience and mentorship to second-year law students from populations historically underrepresented in the legal profession. Fellowship awardees will each receive:

• A 10-week paid summer clerkship as a summer associate in the firm’s Chicago, Denver, Des Moines, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Silicon Valley, South Bend or Washington, D.C. office.

• Formal education, training programs and hands-on legal experience through FaegreBD’s summer program.

• Guidance from a mentor lawyer.

• A $10,000 stipend at the conclusion of the summer associate term.

• Eligibility for consideration for full-time employment as an associate with the firm.

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The Federal Communications Bar Association Foundation awards stipends to law students from its Chairman Robert E. Lee Scholarship and Internship Fund.  The program provides stipends of up to $5,000 to outstanding law students employed as unpaid summer interns in positions with the FCC and other Federal, state, and local government agencies with a connection to the communications industry (i.e., broadcasting, cable television, telephony, satellite, wireless, and information technology).

Launched in 2005, Fish & Richardson's 1L Diversity Fellowship Program provides annual fellowships to diverse first-year law students nationwide. The program represents a vital component of the firm's ongoing initiative to recruit, retain, and advance attorneys who will contribute to the diversity of our practice and the legal profession.

The 1L Diversity Fellowship Program is comprised of four components: Each selected Fellow receives a paid summer associate position in one of Fish & Richardson's domestic offices during the summer; mentoring throughout the academic year by members of the firm; participation in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity 1L Scholars Program; and a $10,000 scholarship.*

*Fish will award $5,000 to all 1L Diversity Fellowship Recipients upon completion of their 1L summer clerkship with the firm and offer an additional $5,000 to those who receive and accept an associate offer with the firm after the completion of their 2L summer clerkship with the firm.

The Fried Frank Civil Rights Fellowship is a unique program that effectively bridges the worlds of private law firm litigation and public service law by joining with two of the country's leading civil rights advocacy organizations, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

The LDF and MALDEF fellowships each allow an entry-level lawyer to spend two years as a Fried Frank litigator and two years as a staff attorney with LDF or MALDEF. At the end of their four-year commitment, our successful Fellows are encouraged to interview to return to Fried Frank, and, in some cases, they may continue on the staff of their civil rights organization. We are proud that a number of our former Fellows hold high-level positions on the teams of both LDF and MALDEF.

The ideal candidate for a Fried Frank Civil Rights Fellowship is a third-year law student or recent graduate currently in a judicial clerkship. Candidates for the MALDEF and LDF fellowships should be genuinely interested in corporate and civil rights litigation.

The Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation protects the retirement income and health care benefits of America’s workers and retirees by enforcing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in the federal courts. Both DOL and PBGC have summer interns who support this enforcement mission. The decision to enter public service requires a sacrifice, particularly when the burden of educational debt may tempt law students to pursue other paths. Gary Tell created this foundation to recognize and applaud the students who make this choice.

Gary envisioned that this scholarship would encourage and support public service.

Each summer, the foundation provides two five thousand dollar stipends to law students or clerks who have chosen to spend their summer working on ERISA litigation matters for DOL or PBGC in Washington D.C.  Gary S. Tell  ERISA Litigation Scholars must have a solid academic record, an interest in public service, and, of course, an interest in pursuing ERISA litigation as their career.

The Google Policy Fellowship program offers undergraduate, graduate, and law students interested in Internet and technology policy the opportunity to spend the summer contributing to the public dialogue on these issues, and exploring future academic and professional interests.

Fellows will have the opportunity to work at public interest organizations at the forefront of debates on broadband and access policy, content regulation, copyright and creativity, consumer privacy, open government, government surveillance, data security, data innovation, free expression, and more.

Fellows will be assigned a lead mentor at their host organizations and will have the opportunity to work with several senior staff members over the course of the summer. Fellows will be expected to make substantive contributions to the work of their organization, including conducting policy research and analysis, drafting reports and white papers, attending government and industry meetings and conferences, and participating in other advocacy activities.

Helsell Fetterman LLP is seeking diverse law students interested in applying for the firm’s Richard S. White Fellowship.  Founded in 1890, Helsell Fetterman offers law students the opportunity for hands-on experience through its commitment to providing businesses, organizations and individuals with exceptional solutions to legal problems in the Pacific Northwest.

The Richard S. White Fellowship includes both a paid, 12-week summer associate position and a $7,500 academic scholarship to be remitted directly to the student’s law school at the beginning of the school year following the summer clerkship to assist in paying the student’s tuition.

Each summer the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization of Yale Law School (LSO) has a fellowship program for students from Yale and other law schools. LSO is the main organization at Yale Law School providing  legal representation to individuals and organizations in need of legal assistance but unable to afford private attorneys.  During the academic year, law students work closely with clinical faculty members to represent clients in a wide range of litigation and non-litigation matters, helping to fill a critical need in legal services delivery for poor and marginalized communities in Connecticut.  LSO seeks to hire 20-25 Summer Fellows to work with clinical faculty in order to continue this client representation. These are paid positions, with a salary of $6,720 for 12 weeks of full-time work.

Our lawyers come from various backgrounds, each dedicated to serving a diverse community. We're committed to promoting diversity within our firm and the legal profession. Each year, K&L Gates sponsors several fellowship opportunities for 1L law students, including the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity (LCLD) 1L Scholars Program, the 1L Diversity Fellowship in our Seattle office, the Charlotte Legal Diversity Clerkship Program, the NCBA Minorities in the Profession 1L Summer Associate Program, the Kickstarter Program, and the JumpStart Program. Not only do our fellowship programs reflect our commitment to public service and diversity, but they're also an excellent way for law students to make significant legal service contributions while gaining substantial legal experience.

These positions will be offered to exceptional first-year law students with excellent academic scholarship and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, professional development, and community.

The MBF’s Legal Intern Fellowship Program was established in 1996 to give talented law students the experience and encouragement they need to pursue careers in the public interest law sector while providing legal aid organizations with much-needed additional staff capacity for the summer. The MBF awards at least three (3) stipends of $6,000 each to law students who intern during the summer months at nonprofit organizations providing civil legal services to low-income clients in Massachusetts. These awards are supported by generous contributions to the MBF from lawyers and judges statewide and by the Smith Family Fund.

The Michael Maggio Immigrants’ Rights Fellowship awards $2,500 to a law student to work on an immigration related student-initiated project. Applicants must submit a project proposal with an organization willing to host the student for 10 weeks. The student's proposal must include a collaborative plan with the host organization to partially match the Fellowship award in the amount of $1,500. This matching may be done by either direct stipend by the host organization or through other means, e.g., law school public interest funding, independent fundraising, etc. This ensures that the student will receive a total funding in the amount of $4,000.

In 2010, Ms. JD partnered with the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession to found the Ms. JD Fellowship. The Fellowship is Ms. JD’s program to promote mentoring and professional development. Each spring, Ms. JD selects a group of outstanding second-year law students as Fellowship recipients. In addition to receiving financial support and invitations to ABA and Ms. JD events, each Fellowship recipient is paired with a mentor chosen from among the Brent Award honorees, Spirit of Excellence Award recipients, and ABA Commission on Women in the Profession Commissioners.

The Peggy Browning Fund supports between 40 and 50 funded Summer Fellowships in labor-related organizations throughout the United States. The Summer Fellowship Program provides stipends to 1st and 2nd-year law students who dedicate this time to advancing the cause of workers’ rights. Summer Fellowship stipends will be a minimum of $5,000 per student for the ten-week employment period. 

Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) offers the Polikoff-Gautreaux Fellowship, an exceptional fellowship opportunity in Chicago for a recent law or public policy graduate.  One of the country’s foremost public interest law and policy centers, BPI strives to resolve compelling issues of social justice and quality of life in the Chicago region by addressing the challenges of urban poverty, increasing housing and educational opportunity, building vital communities, and improving Illinois’ criminal justice system.

Fellows receive an annual salary of $52,000 with medical and dental coverage. Debt service on law school or graduate school loans for the duration of the Fellowship may be available, based on need.

The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Each year, candidates apply for the prestigious title of PMF Finalist. Selected Finalists are eligible for appointment as Fellows.

To become a PMF, you must participate in an arduous, multi-phase process. It takes patience and endurance and allows you to demonstrate your leadership ability and potential. As a PMF, you will have earned your place in the Program and the opportunity to grow professionally, serve your country, and make a difference.

The Robert Masur Fellowship competition is open to first-year law students who intend to carry out significant activities during the summer (between their first and second year) in civil rights and civil liberties. The fellowship recipients each receive a $2,000 honorarium.

Robert Masur dedicated his legal career to protecting the rights of the unemployed, minorities, and the poor. A 1973 graduate of Stanford Law School, he spent six years at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, where he litigated several employment and consumer law cases. 1976, he successfully argued an employment discrimination case before the Supreme Court. He entered private practice in 1981, where he focused on consumer protection law. His friends and family established the Robert Masur Fellowship in his memory to support the work he was dedicated to and encourage young people to pursue public-interest legal careers.

The Ropes & Gray Roscoe Trimmier Jr. Diversity Scholarship provides up to five outstanding second-year law students with a paid summer associate position at the firm following the completion of their second year along with a $25,000 award to offset the expenses of their legal education.

The Skadden Foundation funds approximately 25 two-year fellowships for graduating law students and alumni annually. The prestigious fellowships are awarded to individuals who have partnered with an eligible host organization to develop a project that provides civil legal services to underserved groups in the United States, including people experiencing poverty, the elderly, the homeless, people with disabilities, and those deprived of their civil and human rights.

Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowships fund local, state, and national policy advocacy projects addressing one or more of the Open Society Foundation’s priorities for criminal justice reform. The fellowships are eighteen months and may be, but don’t have to be, implemented in conjunction with a host organization.

The State Bar of Texas, Environmental & Natural Resources Law Section sponsors summer internships for students currently in their second year of law school with each of the following: (i) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, (ii) the Office of the Attorney General (Environmental Protection and Administrative Law Division), (iii) the Railroad Commission of Texas, (iv) the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, (v) the Texas General Land Office, (vi) the Texas Water Development Board, and (vii) the Harris County District Attorney's Office (Environmental Crimes Division).

The objective of the Section's internship program is to provide seven law students who have demonstrated an interest in environmental law with an opportunity to obtain practical experience through one of the sponsored internships. The internships will last six weeks during either half of the summer of 2016. Each of the seven students selected will receive a $4,000 stipend from the Section as a reward for their selection.

The Access to Justice Internship Program provides a unique opportunity for law students to participate in an internship with a legal aid organization. These internships educate students about the civil legal needs of low-income people and provide future lawyers with the skills to address these problems.

Accomplished lawyers supervise each law student and have the opportunity to provide direct legal services to low-income clients while receiving hands-on training and mentorship. Each managing attorney provides their law students with various experiences and assignments, including significant research and writing, which helps them learn about access to justice matters, legal decision-making, advocacy skills, attorney-client relationships, and legal institutions.

The internships are open to law school students from any law school throughout the country, but preference is given to applicants from Texas law schools. A stipend of $ 5,000 is provided to every student to help defray the living expenses of the 400-hour commitment.

The Weil Diversity Fellowships are open to current students at ABA-accredited law schools who have completed the first semester of their first year of a full-time JD program. All fellowship candidates must intend to practice law in a major city in the United States. The winning recipient(s) of the Weil 1L Diversity Fellowship will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship for their second year of law school, contingent upon accepting an offer to join Weil’s summer associate program.

The Weil 2L Diversity Fellowship is available to students enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school and intend to practice law in a major city of the United States where Weil has an office. Eligible students must have completed their first year of a full-time JD program. They may not be the recipient of Weil’s 1L Diversity Award or a similar scholarship award from another law firm.

Weil 2L Diversity Fellows will receive a gift of a $10,000 non-renewable scholarship for their third year of law school. This scholarship is contingent upon accepting an offer of summer employment at Weil.